2019: 11 (Self-publish Your Photo Books)

Very excited to get my two new book projects out into the word this week. I am grateful as always for the support from my friends, family and fellow artists. This project has been kicking around for months and months, but it wasn’t until a return to Naples in December that I was able to really focus on the thrust of this work. It was the return visit to Italy that really clarified things for me, and what ultimately pushed me to produce two separate books of photos.

From a design standpoint, the book layout was a bit of departure for me. First of all was the decision to include both color and black and white photos throughout the book. Breaking that self-inflicted barrier was a huge leap of faith for me. I also worked with a very different “grid” for the pages. Instead of simply dropping in one photo per page, I really explored combining photos of different sizes in a spread, as well as using two, three or four images per spread. I found this both challenging and liberating.

I’d like to thank those who have already purchased a book (or two) and welcome anyone else who may be interested to visit my online shop to order a copy (or two.)

2019: 10 (March Arrives...)

• March comes in like a lion or a lamb. Depends on which direction you look. Spring is in the air one day, and the next, a chill and blast of wind reminds you that it is still winter. Still, the light in New Mexico is seductive, and just a simple stop at a red light yields wonders.

• Final touches are being put on my new books, but a printing snafu dampened my enthusiasm somewhat. Waiting for re-prints to arrive, but cautiously optimistic that all will look good.

• Sickness and health. Anxiety and calmness. Bouncing between different poles, like a raft on the sea.

• Fantastic night at Meow Wolf this week, seeing Kurt Vile. Always a thrill seeing an artist in their prime, at the peak of their powers.

• Photo podcasts keep me company on long rides to Santa Fe, or when I’m having trouble falling asleep, this one in particular resonated with me. (Episode 100.)

• Laura Greenfield’s documentary “Generation Wealth” should be required viewing for anyone registering for a credit card, or considering plastic surgery. Man, is it hard to look in the mirror as a society sometimes.

2019: 8 (Scanning Through The Past)

Digitizing my old contact sheets is like taking a walk through a life I don’t even recognize anymore. At the same time, deep down in the recesses of my mind I can remember being in those exact places, taking those exact photos.

What are we losing when we only shooting digital photographs? What will be left behind when that hard drive with our entire library of photos finally kicks the bucket? What happens when your phone breaks (or is stolen) and you never thought to back it up? What happens when that file format is no longer recognized by your desktop device 10 years from now?

I can honestly admit that most of the images I’m seeing on my old contact sheets leave a lot to be desired, but they are evidence of my creative development… for better or worse. And that alone imbues them with some value, probably only to me. It is good to be reminded where I’ve come from, and how far I’ve progressed.

To that end, the self-publishing bug that has bit me over the past few years has brought some sense of permanence to the fleeting stream of digital images I’ve been creating. And I hope I’ll pull one of my books off a shelf in ten or twenty years from now and see how much further I’ve gone.

2019: 7 (LAX)

I spent a good part of this week in Los Angeles for work. More specifically, I spent three days at LAX. It turned out to be a good place to let the lens of my iPhone wander. There is a nice geometry to the airport, which serves as interesting backdrop to the parade of thousands of people heading off to wherever they may be jetting off to.

Other things are on the horizon. I am putting the finishing touches on two (!) new self-publishing projects. Look for a “one, two” punch of new work coming very, very soon. As is the usual case, I’m keeping my cards close to the vest, but more will be revealed soon, including a special offer for my email subscribers (which you should sign up for…)

2019: 6 (Panoramic Thoughts)

Rough week for me physically, as I ended up spending a couple of days in the hospital. Digestive systems are complex and delicate things, I guess.

Glad to see my friends getting some much deserved recognition for their photo and poetry project. Kudos Justin and Hakim.

Something is drawing me strongly to panoramic photography lately. Perhaps it’s the fact that it completely breaks away from the square format of social media, or the expected ratio of full frame digital image making. For now, force cropping on a digital dslr will have to suffice, but it’s been fun and challenging to work within such tight constrains. Looking at the pano work of Josef Koudelka is particularly inspiring.

So far, just looking up into the branches of the bare tree branches against the winter sky is proving quite fascinating to my eyes.

2019: 5 (Winter Bleaks)

February always feels like the bleakest month to me. Even though I live in the desert, and am mostly exempt from the brutal cold felt elsewhere, the heart of the winter never fails to throw a pall over me.

I spent the week mired in darkness, exacerbated by stumbling through some old emails (while searching for a long lost attachment.) Several from now dead friends, some from now non-friends, some reminding me of my own skeletons in the closet.

Nonetheless, I force my way through, trying to dance with the muse, keeping the flame burning. To that end, I sent two (!) layouts to Magcloud this week. If all goes well, it will be a one-two punch for my next publishing efforts. And a big project is also looming, that will see the light of day this summer.

Also popped off a roll of expired slide film through the Kiev 6C, cross-process here we come.

Good things can emerge even when there is darkness.

My hit list for this week:

The story behind William Eggleston’s famous red ceiling photo (sort of)

The new album by Beirut is out (pretty much listening to this constantly)

Currently addicted to Peaky Blinders on Netflix

Lusting for a panoramic camera. Anyone got 3 grand they can give me?

2019: 4 (Things To Come)

Currently in Portland, Oregon… enjoying moss, mist, coffee and great food.

Working on a two volume zine… Italy has reaped rewards.

Josef Koudelka is an inspiration… purchased his book “Gypsies” from Photo Eye last week. The images are incredible, the printing of the book impeccable.

Wonderful night in Santa Fe last weekend hearing Patti Smith read and sing.

Life can be good sometimes.

2019: 3 (Film)

I spent some time this week experimenting with a combination of 35mm film shot inside a few medium format cameras. The Agfa Clack is a 6x9 film camera that is about as low tech as you can get, but still having the benefit of a glass lens. I ran a roll of black and white film through this camera, but the results were below my expectations, even for something I would consider an “experiment.” I also ran a roll of 35mm film through my Russian tank, a Kiev 6C. Have not gotten that roll developed yet, but should be interesting to see the result of a wide angle Jena lens and a 6cm wide frame throwing imagery onto 35mm film.

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I’m glad to have a lab in the city that still processes film, a big thanks to Picture Perfect Photo Lab for helping to feed my need for film based photography in 2019. Besides the 35mm / medium format rolls, I also had them process a roll of film I shot in the bosque along the Rio Grande sometime in 2018, a strip of which you can see above. These images will be part of a big project that will be revealed later this year… tease…. tease. Man, I am happy my scanner still works.

2019: 2 (Riding For The Feeling)

Trying to do one good thing a day to further along my creative practices.

This week included doing a small architectural photo shoot for a friend, which I found surprisingly enjoyable. Put my ultra-wide angle lens to good use.

Trying to bring my recent trip to Naples into tangible focus by working on a layout for my next self-publishing venture. Can’t stop, won’t stop.

On a related note, improv classes up in Santa Fe resumed this week. It’s a joy to play with nothing but thoughts in my head. I know there are correlations between my photography and my improv; I see it in my layouts for sure. I also see the irony of writing about improv (yes, and…) and posting a photo that blatantly speaks the opposite. Such is life, always opposing viewpoints, so often at the same time.

2019: 1 (So This Is The New Year)

Thoughts and Observations

Two snowstorms over the holidays, one on New Years Day. Rare sight for the middle of Albuquerque to see to roads completely covered and impassable. Spent the holiday with a fire in in the fireplace, drink in hand, occasionally looking out the window as the flakes drifted downward. Took a walk in the evening and enjoyed the silence. Not a bad way to start the year.

I’ll be making an effort to expand my photo book library this year, and with Photo-Eye less than an hour drive away, I’m guessing the jones will be easy enough to feed. I picked up a few titles to get the pump primed. I finally purchased a copy of Robert Frank’s The Lines of My Hand. A nice bridge from The Americans to his later work, and the printing by Steidl is outstanding. I also picked up a copy of Takuma Nakahira’s Overflow. Not very familiar with his work, but I read somewhere he was an “arch rival” of Daido Moriyama (who I adore) so I was intrigued to check out some of his work. The layout of this book is jarring, yet I found much inspiration from how the structure of the page spreads were broken from a conventional constraints of “one picture per page” approach. I plan on hijacking this idea for my next self-publishing project, coming sooner than you think.

I finally replaced my “backup” camera. Goodbye to the constraints of iso 1600. If you’re wondering, I bought a Canon T7i (gearheads be damned) with a sweet, ultra wide angle lens. I can’t wait to play with it, and shoot fast and loose, like God intended.

While shaking the cobwebs off of my brain to come up with a project for the year, I contemplated a few ideas. Maybe shoot a different film camera a month, or one roll of film a week for a year. But maybe the most realistic way to stay on some kind of routine is just simply write down my thoughts on a weekly basis. No pressure, no expectations beyond just sticking to this commitment. A tip of the hat to my friend Justin, who is a far better writer than I am; he did a similar thing a couple of year’s back, and I always enjoyed reading what he had on his mind from week to week. So here we go.